A new silent majority tires of the chaos

Lewisburg, Pa.: I’ve been a Republican since Barry Goldwater’s faltering 1964 run. I was 13. They said if you voted for Goldwater, the war in Vietnam would escalate. They were right. My older brother convinced me that Goldwater was the right guy. I was following my parents’ lead as an LBJ supporter. I egged him on about his political views. He responded by throwing a plate of pot roast at me.

I took being spared from his meat-and-potatoes argument as an omen. The incident changed my innocent political ideas. The “flying meat incident” helped me land work as a speechwriter and later a congressional aide, both on the GOP side of the aisle. Looking back, I stayed true to Republican ideals because, in my mind, the GOP embraced my ideal of American patriotism.

I stayed a Republican because the party came closest to representing my view of what America should be. But my GOP has been hijacked by a despicable human who I voted for too many times. In reaction, the Democratic Party has also been hijacked. These extremes are not what my America should be. Currently, the middle is quiet. Back in the day, it was called the “silent majority.” I’m sure there are a lot of us quiet folks out there, and we’re ready to roar. I hope so, at least.

Portsmouth, N.H.: I am so tired of all these ads, Democratic and Republican, about who is going to change the economy, bring grocery prices down and make America affordable. Bottom line: As long as President Trump is in the White House, nothing will change. They can spend all the money they want, but it’ll be the same old story. Our only hope is that people who bought into Trump’s bogus........

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